None.
The present invention generally relates to a method of enhancing feed consumption. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for enhancing feed consumption by swine, especially by young, post-weaned piglets and lactating sows.
The economic viability of a pork producer is directly related to the number of litters the producer""s sows have and the number of piglets in each litter of each sow. Other important factors in the economic viability of pork production include how quickly and efficiently young pigs reach a marketable weight.
Lactating sows typically do not consume enough feed during lactation to maintain body weight. There is a strong correlation between body weight loss by sows during lactation and the interval between weaning and return to estrus for the sows. Additionally, weight loss by sows during lactation and subsequent litter sizes produced by the sows are negatively correlated. These two correlations have a significant economic impact on pork producers. First, sows that lose a substantial amount of weight during lactation are typically not able to have as many litters during the reproductively viable period of the sows. Besides reducing the number of litters a sow is able to have, substantial weight loss by the sows during lactation will typically reduce the number of piglets in subsequent litters that the sows produce. Therefore, feeds with enhanced palatability that increase feed intake and maintain sow body weight during lactation are extremely valuable to pork producers.
Another factor in the economics of producing pork is the time required to raise pigs following weaning to a marketable weight. The process of weaning, especially xe2x80x9cearly weaningxe2x80x9d which is defined herein to be xe2x80x9cbetween 10 and 18 days of age,xe2x80x9d produces challenges that the young pigs have not previously experienced. These challenges include, among other things, an abrupt change in diet, usually from sow""s milk to grain-based feeds. During the post-weaning period, pigs typically have a limited opportunity to digest anything but sow""s milk before being abruptly introduced to feed other than sow""s milk, such as grain-based feeds. Besides being unfamiliar with the new feed, the young pigs must also adapt to a new social structure where the pigs are not solely reliant on their sows for nourishment. When these two circumstances occur simultaneously, nutritional intake by the young pigs is typically disrupted, which may reduce the growth rate of the young pigs and also may increase the mortality rate of the young, post-weaned pigs.
A number of feed additives have been employed as feed supplements for young pigs. For example, one type of feed additive for young pigs includes a protein hydrolysate that is derived from processing of porcine mucosa and intestinal portions. Nonetheless, despite the advances in the art of feeding animals represented by these approaches, a need still remains for a feeding approach and composition that minimizes the deleterious effects that may be exhibited when weaning young pigs from sow""s milk to a feed other than sow""s milk, such as grain-based feeds. Furthermore, a need remains for a feeding approach and composition that will encourage post-weaned pigs to maximize their daily feed intake and that will increase growth and weight gain of post-weaned pigs beyond that previously exhibited upon weaning young pigs from sow""s milk to a different diet, such as a diet that includes grain-based feeds. The feeding approach and composition of the present invention provides a solution to this outstanding need that will enhance the economic viability of pork producers.
The present invention includes a method of feeding young, weaned swine. The method includes applying a liquid digest onto a feed substance to form a feed material, where the liquid digest includes an enzymatically-processed material, and providing the feed material to the young, weaned swine. The present invention further includes a method of increasing the palatability of a swine feed, a method of making a swine feed, method of increasing the feed efficiency of a young post-weaned pig, a method of increasing the feed intake of a lactating sow, and a method of maintaining the body weight of a lactating sow.
The present invention includes both a method for enhancing the amount of average daily intake of feed by post-weaned piglets and also a method of minimizing weight loss by lactating sows. The method of the present invention generally entails coating a swine feed with a liquid digest produced by an enzymatic reaction that digests and liquefies a nutritional component, such as a protein substrate and/or a carbohydrate substrate.
It has been discovered that applying a liquid digest in an effective amount to a swine feed increases the average daily feed intake and average daily weight gain of young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the average daily feed intake and average daily weight gain of young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application. Thus, the liquid digest, when applied to the swine feed in accordance with the present invention, acts as a palatability enhancer of the swine feed. Furthermore, application of the liquid digest in an effective amount to the swine feed surprisingly has been discovered to increase the feed efficiency, and consequently decrease the ratio of feed consumption to weight gain, of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the feed efficiency, and consequently the ratio of feed consumption to weight gain, of young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application.
The liquid digest may be applied to the swine feed at any rate that is effective to realize advantages of the present invention. For example, the liquid digest maybe generally applied to the swine feed at a rate ranging from above about 0 pounds to about 3 pounds of the liquid digest per one hundred (100) pounds of the swine feed, and preferably at a rate ranging from about 1 pounds to about 3 pounds of the liquid digest per one hundred (100) pounds of the swine feed, such as at the rate of about 2 pounds of the liquid digest per one hundred (100) pounds of swine feed. Nonetheless, in accordance with the present invention, the liquid digest may generally be applied to the swine feed at any effective rate that may generally range from above about 0 pounds to above about 3 pounds, such as to at least about 20 pounds or more, of the liquid digest per one hundred (100) pounds of swine feed.
In the context of the average daily feed intake of young, post-weaned pigs, the effective amount of the liquid digest is the amount of the liquid digest that, when applied to the swine feed, brings about an increase of the average daily feed intake of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the average daily feed intake of the young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application. In the context of the average daily weight gain of young, post-weaned pigs, the effective amount of the liquid digest is the amount of the liquid digest that, when applied to the swine feed, brings about an increase of the average daily weight gain of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the average daily weight gain of the young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application. In the context of the feed consumption to weight gain ratio, the effective amount of the liquid digest is the amount of the liquid digest that, when applied to the swine feed, brings about a decrease of the feed consumption to weight gain ratio of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the feed consumption to weight gain ratio of the young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application.
Preferably, the liquid digest is applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to increase the average daily feed intake of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the average daily feed intake of young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application, by at least about 15%, and more preferably by at least about 25%, over a period of at least about seven days, and more preferably over a period of at least about two weeks. Likewise, the liquid digest is preferably applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to increase the average daily gain of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the average daily gain of young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application, by at least about 10%, more preferably by at least about 15%, and still more preferably by at least about 25%, over a period of at least about seven days, and more preferably over a period of at least about two weeks. Furthermore, the liquid digest is preferably applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to decrease the feed consumption to weight gain ratio of the young, post-weaned pigs, as compared to the feed consumption to weight gain ratio of young post-weaned pigs fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application, by at least about 4%, and more preferably by at least about 8%, over a period of at least about seven days, and more preferably over a period of at least about two weeks.
Besides being useful as a palatability enhancer for increasing the feed intake of young, post-weaned pigs, application of the liquid digest to swine feed is also surprisingly useful as a palatability enhanced for helping minimize weight loss by lactating sows or even maintaining the body weight of lactating sows. It is known that lactating sows have difficulty maintaining body weight while nursing pigs. Nonetheless, it has been found that coating swine feed with liquid digest in accordance with the present invention causes the sow to consume more swine feed, apparently by virtue of enhancing the palatability of the feed, and thereby helps the sow maintain body weight during lactation. Furthermore, application of the liquid digest to swine feed causes lactating sows that consume the swine feed with the applied liquid digest to exhibit significantly thicker backfat, as compared to lactating sows that consume only swine feed that is free of applied liquid digest.
In the context of the average daily feed intake of lactating sows, the effective amount of the liquid digest is the amount of the liquid digest that, when applied to the swine feed, brings about an increase of the average daily feed intake of the lactating sows, as compared to the average daily feed intake of lactating sows fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application. In the context of weight maintenance by lactating sows, the effective amount of the liquid digest is the amount of the liquid digest that, when applied to the swine feed, allows an increase of the body weight of the lactating sows, or at least less body weight loss by the lactating sows, as compared to the body weight lost by lactating sows fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application.
Preferably, the liquid digest is applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to increase the average daily feed intake of lactating sows, as compared to the average daily feed intake of lactating sows fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application, by at least about 5%, and more preferably by at least about 10%, over a period of at least about seven days, and more preferably over a period of at least about two weeks. As another alternative, the liquid digest is preferably applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to increase the average daily feed intake of lactating sows, as compared to the average daily feed intake of lactating sows fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application, by at least about 8% over the entire lactation period of the lactating sows beginning at farrowing and ending at weaning of the piglets.
Likewise, the liquid digest is preferably applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to allow lactating sows to either lose no body weight or to at least lose less weight, as compared to the weight lost by lactating sows fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest application, over a period of about one week, and more preferably over a period of at least about two weeks, when the sows are lactating following weaning. Furthermore, the liquid digest is preferably applied to the swine feed in an amount that is effective to cause the backfat thickness of the lactating sows to be about 40% greater, as of the end of lactation, than the backfat thickness of lactating sows fed only the swine feed that is free of the liquid digest.
The liquid digest may be based upon natural nutritional components, such as a proteinaceous material, a fatty material, a carbohydrate-containing material, or any combination of any of these., that are preferably derived from animal tissue. The natural nutritional components yield natural flavors to the liquid digest. Lipids and fatty acids are some non-exhaustive examples of fatty materials that may be derived from animal tissue. Saccharides, such as simple sugars, and polysaccharides, such as glycogen, are some non-exhaustive examples of carbohydrate-containing materials that may be derived from animal tissue.
Through an enzymatic process, the nutritional components are reduced in size, with the nutritional components preferably being reduced in size sufficiently to liquify, or at least essentially liquify, the nutritional components. Thus, enzymatic processing reduces proteinaceous materials to smaller peptides and amino acids. Likewise, enzymatic processing breaks fatty materials into smaller particles, such as smaller lipids and smaller fatty acids. Also, enzymatic processing breaks carbohydrates into smaller compounds with shorter chain lengths. As the enzymatic reaction progresses, the proteinaceous materials, fatty materials, and carbohydrate-containing materials are reduced in size to the point where the proteinaceous materials, fatty materials, and carbohydrate-containing materials are preferably liquified, or at least essentially liquified.
Thus, the liquid digest includes enzymatically-processed materials that are preferably derived from animal tissue, such as proteinaceous materials that have been enzymatically-processed, fatty materials that face been enzymatically processed, carbohydrate-containing materials that have been enzymatically-processed, and any combination of any proteinaceous materials, any fatty materials, and any carbohydrate-containing materials that have been enzymatically-processed. Some more specific examples of components of the liquid digest include, but are not limited to, enzymatically-processed chicken by-products, enzymatically-processed chicken meat, enzymatically-processed chicken liver, enzymatically-processed fish meat, enzymatically-processed fish by-products, enzymatically-processed beef, enzymatically-processed beef by-products, enzymatically-processed dairy materials, enzymatically-processed yeast, and any of these in any combination.
Some non-exhaustive examples of dairy materials that may be enzymatically processed and thereafter incorporated in the liquid digest include dried buttermilk, dried skimmed milk, dried whole whey, casein and cheese rind. Some non-exhaustive examples of yeast that may be enzymatically processed and thereafter incorporated in the liquid digest include distillers"" dried yeast, primary dried yeast, irradiated dried yeast, brewers dried yeast and torula dried yeast.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cmeatxe2x80x9d is refers to the flesh of a mammal, such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats; poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese; and seafood, such as fish and shellfish. Additionally, as used herein, the term xe2x80x9cmeat by-productxe2x80x9d is intended to refer non-rendered parts from slaughtered or harvested animals, such as mammals, poultry, and seafood. Beyond enzymatically-processed components, the liquid digest may optionally include crab paste; fish paste; fish oil; phosphoric acid; any edible antimycotic substance(s), such as calcium propionate and potassium sorbate; any edible natural antioxidant(s), vitamins; minerals; and any of these in any combination.
Natural nutritional components, such as proteinaceous materials, fatty materials, carbohydrate-containing materials, and combinations of the se may be enzymatically-processed in preparation for incorporation in liquid digest by combining the natural nutritional component(s) with suitable enzyme(s) under suitable enzymatic reaction conditions. Selection of suitable enzyme(s) and suitable enzymatic reaction conditions for enzymatic processing of natural nutritional component(s) is within the knowledge of those of ordinary skill in the art of the enzymatic processing industry.
As an alternative to extraneous enzymes that are added, some animal components, such as chicken viscera, contain self-produced enzymes and are capable of autolyzing (self-digesting) when placed under suitable reaction conditions. The liquid digest of the present invention may permissibly incorporate autolysates, natural nutritional components that have been enzymatically processed by addition of extraneous enzymes, or any combination of any of these. In one preferred embodiment, the liquid digest of the present invention incorporates both natural nutritional components that have been enzymatically processed by addition of extraneous enzymes and one or more natural nutritional components that have been enzymatically processed by self-produced enzymes (i.e., autolysates).
Some non-exhaustive examples of suitable liquid digests are liquid digests that are available from American Dehydrated Foods, Inc. of Springfield, Mo. Some examples of suitable liquid digests that are available from American Dehydrated Foods, Inc. include natural chicken flavor liquid digest (product code no. 040520), natural chicken liquid digest with crab flavor (product code no. 041220), liquid digest for dogs (product code no. 040120), and liquid ocean fish digest (product code no. 050420). Some representative component ranges (all ranges are approximate) for these four particular liquid digest of American Dehydrated foods, Inc. are provided in Table 1 below:
The natural chicken flavor liquid digest is enzymatically derived from chicken by-products and also contains phosphoric acid, calcium propionate and natural antioxidants. The natural chicken with crab flavor liquid digest is enzymatically derived from chicken by-products and also contains crab paste, phosphoric acid, calcium propionate and natural antioxidants. The liquid digest for dogs is enzymatically derived from chicken liver, chicken meat, and brewer""s yeast and also contains phosphoric acid, calcium propionate and natural antioxidants. Finally, the liquid ocean fish digest is enzymatically derived from fish and dairy whey and also contains phosphoric acid, potassium sorbate, and natural antioxidants.
The swine feed to which the liquid digest may be applied in accordance with the present invention may take any form that is capable of accepting an application of the liquid digest. Thus, as some non-exhaustive examples, the swine feed may be any dry swine feed, such as any commercially available or proprietary dry swine feed, or a semi-solid swine feed that contains more moisture than dry swine feed. The outer surface of the swine feed may have any texture and may generally range from a hard outer surface to a soft outer surface. As some non-exhaustive examples, the swine feed may have a pelleted, chunk, granular, particulate, flaked, meal, or powdered form, or any combination of these or similar forms.
The method of preparing the swine feed to include the liquid digest preferably includes the following steps. First, prior to applying the liquid digest the swine feed, the liquid digest is preferably heated to an application temperature. The application temperature is preferably warm enough to allow the liquid digest to be easily applied to the swine feed by the chosen application technique. The application temperature may generally be room temperature, such as about 70xc2x0 F., or higher, but preferably ranges about 100xc2x0 F. to about 120xc2x0 F. The liquid digest that has preferably been heated may then be applied to the swine feed at any effective rate to coat the swine feed with the liquid digest. The liquid digest may be applied to the swine feed in any conventional fashion that is effective to coat the swine feed with the liquid digest, such as by spraying the liquid digest onto the swine feed, brushing the swine feed with the liquid digest, dipping the swine feed in the liquid digest, tumbling the swine feed with the liquid digest, or any combination of any of these. Preferably, the liquid digest is sprayed onto the swine feed, such as with a conventional hand-held liquid sprayer. The feed coated with the liquid digest is then preferably allowed to dry before the liquid-digest-coated swine feed is fed to pigs, such as young, post-weaned pigs or lactating sows.
In the examples that are provided below as some non-exhaustive illustrations of various aspects of the present invention, feeding periods for young, weaned piglets are variously characterized in phases, such as Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3. This characterization in terms of phases is generally consistent with feeding period characterizations employed in the swine industry for young, weaned piglet. In the swine industry, Phase 1 may be characterized as a feeding period for young, weaned piglets with a body weight generally ranging from about ten to about fifteen and a half pounds. During the Phase 1 feeding period, young, weaned piglets will often consume, as an average, on the order of about 0.4 to about 0.6 pounds of feed daily. In the examples provided herein, Phase 1 began immediately after the young pigs were weaned from the sows and lasted from about seven to about eight days.
Likewise, in the swine industry, Phase 2 may be characterized as a feeding period for young, weaned piglets with a body weight generally ranging from about fifteen and a half pounds to about thirty pounds. During the Phase 2 feeding period, young, weaned piglets will often consume, as an average, on the order of about 0.8 to about 1.3 pounds of feed daily. In the examples provided herein, Phase 2 began immediately after Phase 1 ended and lasted from about eight days to about fourteen days. Similarly, in the swine industry, Phase 3 may be characterized as a feeding period for young, weaned piglets with a body weight generally ranging from about thirty pounds to about fifty-five pounds. During the Phase 3 feeding period, young, weaned piglets will often consume, as an average, on the order of about two pounds to about two and a half pounds of feed daily. In the examples provided herein, Phase 3 began immediately after Phase 2 ended and lasted about ten to about fourteen days.
It is believed that the feed coated with the liquid digest and fed to pigs in accordance with the present invention increases the palatability of the pig feed. This apparent increase in palatability results in increased daily feed intake by the pigs, an increased average daily gain by young post-weaned piglets, and better maintenance of weight by lactating sows. The described palatability enhancement, increased feed intake, and increased average daily weight gain, in the context of young, weaned pigs, have, as illustrated in the examples that follow, been observed during Phase 2 feeding period testing of young, weaned pigs. Further realization of the described benefits, in the context of young, weaned pigs, is expected to occur upon incorporation of the liquid digest feeding regimen of the present invention during the Phase 3 feeding period for young, weaned pigs.
The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrations only, since numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.